For reasons unknown to me, I have a bumper crop of Tropical Red Salvia. Usually a short and somewhat scruffy looking perennial (or reseeding annual, it seems perennial due to the constant supply of seedlings). The Tropical Red Salvia this winter is bearing long, lushly foliated stems with fat blossoms. The bees were not happy with me and my clippers again.
The Tropical Red Salvia also comes in peach, pink and neon orange. I rarely get a neon orange, but I do enjoy the softer colors and seedling variation. You have to wonder why it can’t be called simply Tropical Salvia as it is native to Florida, or, Florida Salvia?
Another native added to the vase, Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) – These ferns graciously popped up in the nether regions between my driveway and my neighbors fence. I have been enjoying ferns in vases since it’s arrival. The red and orange zig zag shaped bits are flowers from a Blanchetiana Bromeliad; the sprays of blue/white flowers are from Dianella (some call it Blueberry Flax), the variegated leaves are also from Dianella. Grey fuzzy foliage is from Licorice Plant (Helichryseum petiolare) – a plant in a winter container that I just cut back. I was happy to learn the Licorice Plant will grow here. More plants to propagate. Or try.
I am having the exact opposite experience with China Asters and will not ask them into the garden again. I love the flowers and am not sure if this is the second or third attempt. Here is a seedling- sowed in September! Had one flower about the size of a fingernail.
Ironically, the seedlings coming up in the pot are Tropical Red Salvia.
Life in the Garden. Happy Monday.
The Shrub Queen 
Your vase is very cheery. My salvia are still blooming, but are nearing the end of their cycle.
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Thanks, the Salvias are one of my favorites.
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Rabbits don’t eat them 🙂
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I like the way the flowers open outward and also go nicely with the color of the table. But I can’t quite imagine life without frost!
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thank you, life with frost is a bit weird, but I like it. Being a true Southerner and hater of all frozen precipitation.
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Western salvias are very popular among the California native plant enthusiasts, but such enthusiasts limit their preferences to just a few specie. It is odd how that works, and how to be part of the clique, one must express the same interests in the same few specie, while there are so many other specie that are ignored. There are a few wild salvias here that I know nothing about, merely because no one else ever made them popular. I am getting to like some of them more than the hip and trendy sorts.
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I must look into the Western Salvias, no luck with the Mexican varieties. I feel a bit of elitism with the native plant enthusiasts, some natives are just a bitch to grow!
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What an elegant vase. I love the salvias, are they Salvia coccinea? Does your dianella get nice blue berries? Mine is always a bit disappointing. I love the felty leaves of the helichrysum, does it smell of liquorice? I never realised before that Americans spell liquorice with a ‘c’.
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Thank you, they are S. coccinea, all of them. No berries on the Dianella, though I tend to cut them for the airy sprays of flowers. I will have to see if anyone knows why that is called Liquorice Plant, there are several varieties, I cut it and noticed no fragrance. It is grey and I have no clue! It is spelled with a C here. On another note, my Petunia exserta just started flowering and what a wonderful shade of red – they are really Heliotrophic, fascinating to watch. No hummingbirds yet.
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So the pink is a salvia too? I have what I think is Salvia coccinea but I keep it in a pot as it is not really hard and it is the greenhouse over winter. I was going to ask about the fragrance of the helichrysum too ps wonderful aster…! 😉
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Yes, the pinks are Salvia as well. I am certain they are not frost tolerant. The Helichysum has no fragrance. I am not sure what Licorice refers to, they are really like Lambs Ears, from a foliage standpoint. To spite the Aster, I am going to plant it. With the Salvia.
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Gardens are always producing surprises. Sometimes I think it’s the timing of rain, even more than the amount, that makes a difference in what blooms well and what doesn’t. I’ve tried growing a lot of Salvias but only a few of them are reliable here and, regrettably, the tropical varieties aren’t among them. As to the bromeliad, every time I see the flowers in your vase, I think of planting my own sorry Blanchetiana in the ground but somehow I don’t think it’d ever produce flowers like yours.
P.S. I gave up on China asters years ago. They don’t like it here either.
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Yes, I am frequently surprised. And would plant that Blanchetiana in the ground. I dug some up today for friends, the leaves are as tall as me, five and a half feet. The Mexican Sage I planted expired, S. Leucantheum ? Bet yours flourish.
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A beautiful vase as always! I was thinking of your nice winter climate as I scraped the ice from my windshield today.
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Thank you, I will be thinking about your summer climate in 6 months!
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Cheerful colors for me to see on this cold winter day. It must be a puzzle to find plants that will do well in your various seasons. At least you have fun trying them out. 🙂
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